Steel door construction



2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. CIC/L 5CHOF/ELD ATTORNEYS Dec. 7, 1954 c.scHox-'IELD -STEEL DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed flan. 17, 1951 Dec- 7, 1954c. scHoFlELD STEEL DOOR CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 17,1951 INVENTOR. CEc/L SCHoF/ELD ATpO/QNEYS United States Patenti@STEEVILJ. 'DOOR ,CONSTRUCTION v.GeilS'cl1oield, Lakewoodffohio,`assigner to?. Republic '5-Steel1 Corporation, Clevelandfhio, a"corportionof `-`NeWIJersey ...Application Januaryi17,1951;"SerilNo206g443 ZJClaims. (Cl..189-'46) The, *present invention'relates generally .to A.the :art of making doors and lismore.particularlyrconcernedfwith novel-fabricated metal doors.

`Among .the more seriousvproblemsl facing; those; skilled in Lthe* artof making-doorsofrnetalrand .especially fabricated metal doors,are.theover-sizenand.over-weightofithe doors and the .high cost 'ofvtheir: :manufacture :dueto-:the largenumber of operations involved-in:makingand assembling the separate parts;.and the complexity, numbenandvariety yof dies required .to :make .thesefseparatefzfparts Oneimportantdifficulty concernsgthe mannergofsattachment of the two main door partsso thatzithefxresulting doors are not too thick and bulky and yet areopen suiciently through their ,midsections during ithezassemblingoperation so ,thatsecuringmeans.therefoncan be located and xed inplace'readily and'rapidly. Another related diiiicultyv pertains to theinsulating rand cushioningof metal doors in order to reduce, insofarzaspossible,: 'shoek transfer between two mainbody :portionsoffthe'il'door. Despite the customary bulk and thickness of such.ifabricated doors .the problem yof providing I insulating;andcushioningfmeans has not heretoforesbeen satisfactorily solved andas; aresult such .desirablemeans areinot-z-normally provided.V

.'*In accordance with my -inventionrethe variousjshortcomings,diicultiesand. .disadvantagesof the prior art, including thosesetoutabove, can-beovercome and additional-.advantages can, at thesametime, be obtained. Moreover, -these novel results can-:bergainedwithoutincurring any economic disadvantage either from the standpoint ofmanufacture, installation or maintenance of these doors.

Those skilled in the art will gain a further understanding of thepresent invention and further appreciation of the importance of itscontribution to the art upon consideration of the following detaileddescription, reference being had to the drawings accompanying andforming a part of the specification, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a fabricated metal door of thisinvention, parts being broken away in the interest of clarity;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, top plan view of the door of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, vertical, sectional view of the door of Fig. 1taken on line 4-4 thereof;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, perspective view of an upper rib of the saidFig. 1 door and a tie bar assembled with said rib;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the door of Fig. 1, indicatingthe structure and arrangement of latchsupporting elements within saiddoor;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary, elevational view of an edge portion of the Fig.1 door, showing an opening therein through which portions of the latchmechanism may project;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of an element of the supporting structurefor the latch mechanism of the Fig. l door; and,

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary, vertical, sectional view of` a portion of thedoor of Fig. l, taken on line 9-9 of Flg. 6, through thelatch-supporting portion of the door.

Generally, a door embodying this invention comprises spaced front andback panels, a plurality of ribs secured to the inner side of the frontpanel and provided with transverse openings, a plurality of ribs securedto the ICC innervzside, ofthe :backrpanel' but, offset relative .to Lthefront` panel' ribs and. substantially '.:paralle'ling ,.ithem:i andhaving transverse: openings 'for' registry with :the openings in 'said.front^;panel'ribs,zand means .including tiebars to be .disposed betweengthezpanels: andto lextend".through the'gregisteredcpenings of:the-:ribsand tie thefiribsftogether and hold thepanels;in.rpositionwithrespectfto eachother.

More specifically, .and with particular regard to the drawings, atypical door-D:of thisinventioncomprises a; generally channel-shaped,rectangular-,fsheetmetaLLfront panelal having ainwardly, directedrelatively. 'short :ilanges llextending substantially the. full lengthof the-:element on.or1e:sideand extending .alongxthe otherside frompointsadjacent to the topand'bottomofv the panel-to spaced-points in ;an:intermediate: portion 'off saidpanel. A second, or back panel.l3,suitablyiofthesame .shape and dimensions 1 as panel 10,1. isAprovided'ifor: cooperation withpanel. 10..to 1deiine ithesides andedges. of the .door structure,.ilanges.:14.'opposing zand. being .spacedclosely to corresponding.: angesll when .the panels. are..assem bledtogether. Panelsltl and 1'3iare secured .together `at spaced kpoints.along-their edges .by means of tack. welds 15y between saidopposediflangeslland.14. Flanges; 11and.14.and..sides.of.;panels;:1tland 13 are partially.;cutawayz'onfone,:sidentordene an opening 1117 in :theedge of .'doorzDvtoaccommodate portions `of..a suitable. latch mechanism, which formsnopart of .thisainvention-.and .is accordingly not illustrated. :Panelsltliandlnare'further provided with registered apertures 18 adjacent to-eaid cut-away;side;portions .toreceivezparts-of said latch mechanism.

A-lrzfpluralityrof generally. channel-shaped ribsl20 having relativelyshort flanges 21 .extending outwardly :from flaring channel sides 22 aresecured to the innerf sides of the panels l0, lianges 21bearing.:againstvtheapanels and-:suitablyybeingespotfwelded thereto`ataa number of spaced points. :Ribs 20iare. so dimensionedlengthwisethat itheyfidoinotnextend:completelyfromfedge .to edge ofz ithe;.rpanelsbutzaterminate adjacent thefoppositeedges thereofaand short ofl :thesides. fof .the panels. These f ribs are :furthermoredisposedrsubstantiallylparallel Ito' the .top and ,bottomnedges 0fpanels/.'10 .andi 13 and.- are provided near. .theirfiends zwithltransverse: registered apertures l 2'4 in their sides in which toreceive securing means by which attachment of the front and back panelsmay be made, as will be described. The ribs of panel 13 are offsetrelative to those of panel 10 to permit assembly of the front and backpanels with apertures 24 in register, the ribs of the two panels,however, being relatively closely spaced in four spaced groups, as shownin Fig. l, to provide maximum strength and stability in the resultingdoor structure. f

A plurality of sheets 26 of flexible, non-metallic insulating material,specifically heavy corrugated paper, are glued to the inner surfaceportions of the panels 10 and 13. These sheets of paper are arranged insuch a manner that when these panels are assembled together, as shown inFig. 4, the webs of ribs 20 bear against portions of these sheets andthe ribs therefore do not come directly into contact with the opposingpanel elements in any instance. Felt or other insulating materials ofcommerce, may be substituted for this corrugated paper for his purpose,as those skilled in the art will understan Two tie bars 30 are employedto secure panels 10 and 13 in assembled relation, said bars extendingvertically of the door through registered apertures 24 and having endportions normally disposed above the uppermost and below the lowermostribs 20. These bars 30 are generally channel-shaped and they have upperends formed with tongues 31 which are bent to a iiat or open position toengage the upper side of the upper rib of the panel assembly, as shownin Fig. 5, whereby the tie bars are retained in position against gravitywhen the door is in upright position. The lower ends of the tie bars areeach tted with a channel-shaped cap 33 which is tack welded to its bar30 so that these bars may be retained in place in the event that door Dis inverted.

The upper end of door D is closed by a channel-shaped cap 35 havingclosed ends and spot welded in place with its side and end portions inengagement with the upper side and edge portions of panels 10 and 13.Cap 35 is provided with two spaced transverse apertures 37 in its webportion and with nuts 38 which are welded to the under side of the saidweb in register with openings 37. Nuts 38 may receive and engagethreaded ends of hanger rods which in turn may be suspended from wheelson an overhead track whereby door D may slide edgewise in the customarymanner, this auxiliary structure being illustrated in outline in Fig. 1.

The lower end of the door may similarly be closed by means of achannel-shaped iloor 40 having an open and a closed end and beingsecured in place in the lower portion of said door by means of spotwelds between the sides and closed end of floor 40 and the lower sideportions and edge portion of panels 10 and 13. By providing oor 40 withan open end, this element may receive and engage stationary guide andstop means (not shown) to control the motion of a door to Some extentand prevent derailment of its suspension means.

The supporting structures for the latch mechanisms comprise a group offour elements arranged around openings 17 and 18. The structures includetwo pairs of angle irons 45 spot welded to the inner sides of panels 10and 13 adjacent to the upper and lower edges of openings 18. A pair ofchannels 47 are similarly secured with their edges opposed to panels 10and 13 adjacent to the side edges of openings 18. One of the channels 47has a window 48 (Fig. 8) in their web portions for registry withopenings 17. Thus, channel elements 47 and angle irons 45 cooperate, asindicated in Figs. 6 and 9, to provide a compartment within the door toreceive the latch mechanlsm.

Having thus described the present invention so that those skilled in theart will be able to gain a better understanding and practice the same, Istate that what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is dened in what isclaimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A light-weight, sound-insulated and cushioned, fabricated metal doorcomprising flanged front and back sheet metal panels joined togetheralong their edges and dening a hollow shell, support means in the shellfor the panels comprising a plurality of generally channelshaped ribswelded to the inner side of the front panel and extending toward andhaving webs disposed adjacent to the rear panel and a plurality ofgenerally channelshaped ribs welded to the inner side of the back paneland extending toward and having webs disposed adjacent to the frontpanel, and sound-insulating and cushioning means in the shell comprisingsheets of exible non-metallic material attached to the inside surfacesof the front and back panels between the ribs carried by said panels,respectively, each rib web engaging one of said sheets and all said ribwebs being spaced from opposing portions of said panels by said sheets.

2. A light-weight, sound-insulated and cushioned, fabricated metal doorcomprising flanged front and back sheet metal panels joined togetheralong their edges and defining a hollow shell, support means in theShell for the panels comprising a plurality of generally channel-shapedribs welded to the inner side of the front panel and extending towardand having webs disposed adjacent to the rear panel and a plurality ofgenerally channel-shaped ribs welded to the inner side of the back paneland extending toward and having webs disposed adjacent to the frontpanel, said ribs being arranged in a plurality of pairs spaced apartlongitudinally of the door, each pair consisting of a rib connected tothe front panel and a rib connected to the rear panel, andsound-insulating and cushioning means in the shell comprising sheets offlexible non-metallic material attached to the inside surfaces of thefront and back panels between the ribs carried by said panels,respectively, each rib web engaging one of said sheets and all said ribwebs being spaced from opposing portions of said panels by said sheets.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,200,639 Moore et al. Oct. l0, 1916 1,439,439 Nyman Dec. 19,1922 1,441,446 Orruck Jan. 9, 1923 1,686,831 Matchette Oct. 9, 19281,810,321 Michelman June 16, 1931 1,846,366 Shattuck Feb. 23, 19321,919,419 Dudley July 25, 1933 2,070,219 Tracy Feb. 9, 1937 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 262,934 Germany July 26, 1913

